Budget, tax hike get thumbs up from Winnebago County Board

Friday

Sep 27, 2013 at 12:01 AMSep 27, 2013 at 5:19 PM

ROCKFORD ­— A new Winnebago County budget that will raise property taxes was approved Thursday. The County Board voted 11-9 on a $198 million budget, divided over whether it should collect about $600,000 more in property taxes next year.

INSIDE: How they voted

Kevin Haas

ROCKFORD ­— A new Winnebago County budget that will raise property taxes was approved Thursday.

The County Board voted 11-9 on a $198 million budget, divided over whether it should collect about $600,000 more in property taxes next year.

The 1.5 percent increase approved Thursday is the first time in three years that the county has increased its property tax levy — the total amount of property taxes the board plans to collect. It has been relatively flat at $38.3 million since 2010.

Gary Jury, R-7, said people can’t afford to pay more property taxes on houses that are dropping in value.

“The time has come when we have to say enough is enough,” he said. “I truly believe we could have sat down and worked out a budget with the existing income we had.”

The board also approved a few last-minute changes to the budget, including a 14-6 vote to hire eight sheriff’s deputies for in a special unit dedicated to capturing wanted criminals, gang members and drug dealers.

The budget would not have had the votes needed to pass without the added police force, a late addition that was hashed-out during the final minutes before Thursday’s vote.

John F. Sweeney, R-16, called the decision “gut-wrenching,” but the additional police ultimately earned his OK on the budget. He said he couldn’t justify asking taxpayers for more money without investing that cash in something they want: less crime.

“We are aggressively and actively trying to pursue the crime issues that plague this community,” he said. “The gang violence on this community is out of control. ... We’re not going to have the economic development we want if that isn’t remedied.”

The additional deputies are expected to cost the county $700,000 next year. To help cover the expense, the board shifted $250,000 from its host fee, which comes from the money garbage haulers pay to dump at Winnebago Landfill. That fund is traditionally dedicated to economic development.

It also shifted money from its highway and health departments and River Bluff Nursing Home to prioritize that cash on public safety; and plans to dip about $100,000 into its 1 percent sales tax cash reserves and reduce spending on jail alternative programs by $60,000 to make up the remainder.

The tax increase would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $3 more on next year’s tax bill, if that home’s value declines by 5.9 percent, the countywide average drop in property value.

For a homeowner whose $100,000 property kept its value from the previous year, the tax bill would increase $23. Each taxpayer’s bills will vary, based on the value of their residences. The tax rate isn’t calculated by the county clerk’s office until April, when all assessment challenges have been reviewed.

County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen said taxpayers are getting a good bang for their buck because of these eight new deputies and five others the board OK’d in May. Christiansen hopes those additions will help the county make progress in its quest to reduce violent crime.

The budget also pays for an extra Juvenile Justice courtroom needed to keep pace with a growing number of child-abuse cases.